Literary Terminology Accuracy: Correctness or precision. Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. Analysis: The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another. Antonym: A word that is the opposite of another word. Autobiography: The story of a person's life written by himself or herself. Biography: The story of a person's life written by someone other than the subject of the work. Cause and Effect: Cause statements stem from actions and events, and effects are what happen as a result of the event or action. Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities. Climax: The turning point in a narrative, the moment when the conflict is at its most intense. Compare: Placing together characters, situations or ideas to show common or differing features in literary selections. Compound Word: A word composed of two or more smaller words, the definition of which is a combination of the definitions of the smaller words Conflict: The conflict in a work of fiction is the issue to be resolved in the story. Context Clues: Information from the reading that identifies a word or group of words. Contrast: To compare or appraise differences. Dialogue: In its widest sense, dialogue is simply conversation between people in a literary work. Differentiate: Distinguish, tell apart and recognize differences between two or more items. Evaluate: To examine and to judge carefully. Explicit: Referring to specific text that is included in the reading passage or in the directions.
Expository Text: Text written to explain and convey information about a specific topic. Contrasts with narrative text. Fable: Narrative intended to convey a moral. Animals or inanimate objects with human characteristics often serve as characters in fables. Fairy Tale: Short narratives featuring mythical beings such as fairies, elves and sprites. Fiction: Any story that is the product of imagination rather than a documentation of fact. Figurative Language: Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling. Flashback: A device used in literature to present action that occurred before the beginning of the story. Folktales: A story originating in oral tradition. Folktales fall into a variety of categories, including legends, ghost stories, fairy tales, fables and anecdotes. Foreshadowing: A device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments. Free Verse: Poetry that lacks regular metrical and rhyme patterns but that tries to capture the cadences of everyday speech. Generalization: A conclusion, drawn from specific information, that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person. Genre: A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content (e.g., prose, poetry). Graphic Organizer: A diagram or pictorial device that shows relationships. Headings, Graphics and Charts: Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader’s comprehension.
Homophone: One of two or more words pronounced alike, but different in spelling or meaning (e.g., hair/hare). Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.). Idiomatic Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell. Implicit: Meanings which, though unexpressed in the literal text, may be understood by the reader; implied. Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement. Irony: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning. Legends: A story about mythical or supernatural beings or events, or a story coming down from the past. Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme). Literary Devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration). Main Idea: The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. Metaphor: A figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object. Meter: The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Mood: The prevailing emotions of a work or of the author in his or her creation of the work. Narrative: Text which conveys a story or which relates events or dialog; contrast with expository text. Nonfiction: Prose writing that is not fictional; designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe rather than entertain. For the most part, its emphasis is factual. Onomatopoeia: The use of words whose sounds express or suggest their meaning. Paraphrase: Restate text or passage in other words, often to clarify meaning or show understanding. Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.). Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. Poetry: In its broadest sense, writing that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader. Point of View: The way in which an author reveals characters, events and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told. Prefix: An affix put before a word to alter its meaning. The element dis- in disbelieve is a prefix. Resolution: The portion of a story following the climax, in which the conflict is resolved. Rhyme: Identical or very similar recurring final sounds in words usually at the end of lines of a poem. Rhythm: The pattern or beat of a poem. Rising Action: The part of a story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. Rising action leads up to the climax, or turning point. Root Word: A root word is one to which prefixes and suffixes can be added to form different words. Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds. Simile: A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (like or as) is used (e.g., She eats like a bird.) Suffix: Suffixes are groups of letters placed after a word to modify its meaning or change it into a different word group, from an adjective to an adverb, etc. Summarize: To capture all the most important parts of the original text (paragraph, story, poem), but express them in a much shorter space. Style: How an author writes; an author’s use of language; its effects and appropriateness to the author’s intent and theme.
Symbolism: A device in literature where an object represents an idea. Synonym: One of two or more words in a language that have highly similar meanings (e.g., sorrow, grief, sadness).
Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.
Thesis: The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.
Tone: The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous)..
Voice: The fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that makes it unique to the writer.
Accuracy: Correctness or precision.
Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
Analysis: The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another.
Antonym: A word that is the opposite of another word.
Autobiography: The story of a person's life written by himself or herself.
Biography: The story of a person's life written by someone other than the subject of the work.
Cause and Effect: Cause statements stem from actions and events, and effects are what happen as a result of the event or action.
Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.
Climax: The turning point in a narrative, the moment when the conflict is at its most intense.
Compare: Placing together characters, situations or ideas to show common or differing features in literary selections.
Compound Word: A word composed of two or more smaller words, the definition of which is a combination of the definitions of the smaller words
Conflict: The conflict in a work of fiction is the issue to be resolved in the story.
Context Clues: Information from the reading that identifies a word or group of words.
Contrast: To compare or appraise differences.
Dialogue: In its widest sense, dialogue is simply conversation between people in a literary work.
Differentiate: Distinguish, tell apart and recognize differences between two or more items.
Evaluate: To examine and to judge carefully.
Explicit: Referring to specific text that is included in the reading passage or in the directions.
Expository Text: Text written to explain and convey information about a specific topic. Contrasts with narrative text.
Fable: Narrative intended to convey a moral. Animals or inanimate objects with human characteristics often serve as characters in fables.
Fairy Tale: Short narratives featuring mythical beings such as fairies, elves and sprites.
Fiction: Any story that is the product of imagination rather than a documentation of fact.
Figurative Language: Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
Flashback: A device used in literature to present action that occurred before the beginning of the story.
Folktales: A story originating in oral tradition. Folktales fall into a variety of categories, including legends, ghost stories, fairy tales, fables and anecdotes.
Foreshadowing: A device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments.
Free Verse: Poetry that lacks regular metrical and rhyme patterns but that tries to capture the cadences of everyday speech.
Generalization: A conclusion, drawn from specific information, that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person.
Genre: A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content (e.g., prose, poetry).
Graphic Organizer: A diagram or pictorial device that shows relationships.
Headings, Graphics and Charts: Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader’s comprehension.
Homophone: One of two or more words pronounced alike, but different in spelling or meaning (e.g., hair/hare).
Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.).
Idiomatic Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell.
Implicit: Meanings which, though unexpressed in the literal text, may be understood by the reader; implied.
Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement.
Irony: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning.
Legends: A story about mythical or supernatural beings or events, or a story coming down from the past.
Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme).
Literary Devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration).
Main Idea: The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic.
Metaphor: A figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object.
Meter: The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
Mood: The prevailing emotions of a work or of the author in his or her creation of the work.
Narrative: Text which conveys a story or which relates events or dialog; contrast with expository text.
Nonfiction: Prose writing that is not fictional; designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe rather than entertain. For the most part, its emphasis is factual.
Onomatopoeia: The use of words whose sounds express or suggest their meaning.
Paraphrase: Restate text or passage in other words, often to clarify meaning or show understanding.
Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.).
Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story.
Poetry: In its broadest sense, writing that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader.
Point of View: The way in which an author reveals characters, events and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told.
Prefix: An affix put before a word to alter its meaning. The element dis- in disbelieve is a prefix.
Resolution: The portion of a story following the climax, in which the conflict is resolved.
Rhyme: Identical or very similar recurring final sounds in words usually at the end of lines of a poem.
Rhythm: The pattern or beat of a poem.
Rising Action: The part of a story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. Rising action leads up to the climax, or turning point.
Root Word: A root word is one to which prefixes and suffixes can be added to form different words.
Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds.
Simile: A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (like or as) is used (e.g., She eats like a bird.)
Suffix: Suffixes are groups of letters placed after a word to modify its meaning or change it into a different word group, from an adjective to an adverb, etc.
Summarize: To capture all the most important parts of the original text (paragraph, story, poem), but express them in a much shorter space.
Style: How an author writes; an author’s use of language; its effects and appropriateness to the author’s intent and theme.
Symbolism: A device in literature where an object represents an idea.
Synonym: One of two or more words in a language that have highly similar meanings (e.g., sorrow, grief, sadness).
Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.
Thesis: The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.
Tone: The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous)..
Voice: The fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that makes it unique to the writer.